Born in Ascalon, Gwen has witnessed horrible things in her young life, seeing both her country and family destroyed by the Charr. After the Searing, she was captured and enslaved by the Charr, but escaped and fled north, where she found other human exiles.

Since then, Gwen has become an adventurer. She makes her home in the Eye of the North, the headquarters of the Ebon Vanguard, where she serves Captain Langmar. She is one of the fiercest defenders of Ascalon, determined to exact vengeance against those who destroyed her home. Gwen has survived on the edges of Charr territory for years, watching them tear apart her childhood dreams and her beautiful homeland. Now she has nothing but memories—and anger—to sustain her. She is not the girl she once was...

Captain Gwen Thackeray (born 1060 AE) is an Ascalonian adventurer and the current commanding officer of the Ebon Vanguard. Originally hailing from Ashford, she lived with her mother Sarah until the Searing, when her mother was killed and she was taken captive by the Charr. For seven years she suffered at their hands, during which time she developed a deep hatred of the feline race. Eventually, she escaped, fleeing north until she chanced upon an Ebon Vanguard camp, where Captain Langmar took her in.

Within a year she had risen to the position of second-in-command, and aided in the effort to rescue Langmar and her soldiers from the Charr Homelands when they were captured during a mission. In doing so, she helped topple Hierophant Burntsoul, which was the main stepping stone for Pyre Fierceshot's long road to revolution. Alongside Langmar and others, she followed the Vanguard to victory in the battle against the Great Destroyer. Other notable accomplishments at this stage of her life include helping to stop a possible Titan threat in the Charr Homelands and returning to Ascalon to deal with Dahgar the Eye of Flame, one of her Charr tormentors during her long years in captivity.

By 1079 AE, she had become romantically involved with Lieutenant Keiran Thackeray. However, her cold personality made his advances difficult and eventually he gave up, deciding to travel to Kryta with his unit, the Ebon Falcons, in order to help defeat the White Mantle in return for aid against the Charr from the Krytan monarchy. During the Krytan civil war, Captain Langmar was killed and Keiran was reported as missing in action, leaving a distraught Gwen in command of the Ebon Vanguard. She organized a search for Keiran, eventually reuniting with him at Anvil Rock. After the two reunited, Keiran proposed, and the two were married in Olafstead.

"I'm sorry I was angry. This pendant means so much to me. I can feel love in it. My mother's love, and.... Thank you! Thank you for everything, my friend."

Alternative dialogue after watching the first vision

"By the way, we found this monumental tapestry a while ago. I think it's meant for one of these walls, but I never got around to choosing which monument to hang it over. Since the scrying pool responded to you, I think it's only fitting that you decide. Here, take it."

Thank you. I know you've had greater concerns than these monuments.

If Lieutenant Thackeray is present

"Keiran...er, Lieutenant Thackeray was just leaving. What can I do for you?"

"We call this the Hall of Monuments. When the Ebon Vanguard arrived here, we found these platforms and this scrying pool. Captain Langmar, Artificer Mullenix, and I have all tried, repeatedly, to make it function. It won't respond to any of us. It's like the pool is waiting for something... or someone."

⇒ What is this pool in the center of the room?

"The scrying pool! You made it respond to your will! When the Ebon Vanguard first arrived here, we found this pool and the surrounding platforms, but none of us could make it respond. It's as if it was waiting for you."

⇒ What is the Ebon Vanguard?

"The Ebon Vanguard was originally just a small cadre of soldiers sent north to raid the Charr and divert their troops from the southern invasions. Over time, exiles, refugees, and escaped prisoners of war swelled their ranks, and we've since became known as the Ebon Vanguard. But our mission remains the same: we must take the fight to the Charr and force them to leave Ascalon!"

⇒ Where is the Ebon Vanguard?

"The Eye of the North is our main base, but the Vanguard sends raids deep into the Charr homelands, through Longeye's Ledge in Norn territory to the east. Captain Langmar should have returned from her last mission by now, and I fear the worst."

⇒ How did you end up with the Ebon Vanguard?

"I don't really want to talk about that. I was a prisoner of the Charr, I escaped. Now I want vengeance."

Sarah:"Gwen! Oh...my! Look how you've grown! How many years have passed me by in this place...? I feared I would never seen you again; that you were lost to me forever.

Gwen:"Mother, I...I don't know what to say. I've wanted to see you for so long. I searched everywhere after... the Searing. I tried to find you. Others survived, so I thought...I hoped...that somehow...

Sarah:"I know I wasn't there for you. I'm so sorry about that.... But look at you now. You've become a beautiful young woman! Oh, the years I missed. There's so much to say; a lifetime of regrets I can never turn into words."

Gwen:"You don't need to regret the words we haven't spoken...only those we have yet to say."

Sarah:"To think that my little, carefree daughter, whose head was once so filled with adventures, could say such a thing."

Gwen:"I'm not that little girl anymore, Mother. Those days are lost behind a wall of fire."

Sarah:"Your life wasn't easy, was it? I can't even imagine. You were so young...Gwen...too young to grow up alone in that hellish world. Is it better now? I pray everyday that your suffering has ended, that the world has become sane again..."

Gwen:"The Charr are... they still threaten our homes, our people. We fight them even now, so that others will never know the pain we carry in our hearts."

Sarah:"We?"

Gwen:"Yes. We... I and my friends... and many other brave warriors. We do what we can; what must be done. The Charr... they took you away from me. They took so much... from us all. I can never forget that. Never!"

Sarah:"Oh, Gwen. I know you were hurt. But you can't let wounds from your past guide the decisions you make in the present."

Gwen:"I can't forget what I lost, Mother. I won't forget you."

Sarah:"I'm not asking you to forget. Some things we carry within our hearts, always. We all have scars and memories, tears of loss and laughter from mirths long gone. They're a part of us. But they are not all that we are."

Sarah:"We are something greater than the sum of our parts. We can learn and grow. Let your experiences, both good and bad, teach you, guide you. But never let them control you."

Gwen:"Mother, I... this is not a fight I can abandon. Not after all we've lost. I must see this through. I must."

Sarah:"No matter how hard you fight, you can never bring those things back, Gwen. They belong to the past now. Your life... you... you belong to the present; no, to the future... Let me tell you something I learned only after my death."

Sarah:"We view this world through eyes cast forward, so we can see the future stretching out in front of us, beckoning us onward through our lives. So, if you must fight, fight for the life you want to lead... for the future you want to live in."

Sarah:"If you fight to fix the regret of the past, you will lose. The past cannot be beaten. As you said, we shouldn't regret the words we never got a chance to say... or the life we never got to lead. Live your life, my little girl. That is all a mother wants... all I ever wanted."

Gwen:"I... I don't know what to say. I love you."

Sarah:"As I love you. Your eyes speak the words you cannot say. I know there is something you must do, Gwen. I always knew you would achieve great things."

Sarah:"Now, I see you before me. I see the kind of person you have become. Strong but willful, caring and empathic, but so driven. I will worry about you... that is a mother's right... but I won't stop you."

Sarah:"Go. Do what you must. Just be careful. I will be here, waiting for you to return."

Gwen:"When this is all over, I will return. I promise. And, if the gods are just, I shall bring good tidings..."

Gwen:"But, please don't wait for me, Mother. You must move on as well, and you will always be in my heart. Always. That is something I can take with me as I look forward to that future; that bright horizon yet to dawn. I love you, Mommy."

Returning to the Underworld (with only Gwen)

Sarah:"Gwen! You've come back to see me...and so soon. Time is difficult to gauge here, but you don't look a day older than the last time i saw you. You're still well and safe? Are you eating enough?"

Gwen:"Mother! Please...I'm fine. I'm a woman now, not a little girl. I can take care of myself. This world may be far from perfect, but it will take a lot more than what I've been through to stop me!"

Sarah:"I would say there are some things about you that you'll never outgrow...And no matter what happens, a mother will always worry about her little girl."

Gwen:"Okay. I guess I can't ask you to stop worrying about me, but really I'm doing well. I just wanted to come see you again. I...I miss you."

"Mommy says I shouldn't bother the grownups so much, but there aren't any children for me to play with. Besides, they're all so nice to me! Well, most of them are, anyway."

"Mr. & Mrs. Hathorn have children, but they're too young to play with me. Sometimes Mrs. Hathorn lets me hold the baby. He's so cute!"

"My daddy was an adventurer like you. Once, he let me go on an adventure with him."

"Okay, I'll wait here."

"Old Mack has a bull named Bill, and he's really mean. Once I saw him chase a man and hurt him real bad. Someone ought to do something about him. If my daddy was here, he'd kill that old bull and carve him into steaks!"

"Prince Rurik and Lady Althea are going to get married! I can't wait! I hope I get to attend the wedding. I just love weddings!"

Gwen will follow the player nearly anywhere in pre-Searing Ascalon, if you have won her favor and have no active Gwen-specific tasks. If you have given her a flute, she will periodically heal you for 20 health.

Players had initially presumed Gwen was dead, another victim of the Searing. Over the years, hints of her survival were placed in-game: Gwen's Broken Flute can be found in Old Ascalon, and a Preserved Red Iris Flower can be found in a chest on the Barbarous Shore. Additionally, a Tattered Girl's Cape used to spawn in Stingray Strand.

To end one of the beta weekend events, Gwen appeared and used Spontaneous Combustion to wipe out the player population. This is not considered part of Guild Wars lore; developers often use similar devices to end events.